Bowl of Berries

Scottie's Fat Tire in Vail

Each year in high school the SCA would put on a year in review, it was mainly for the Seniors in which there were superlatives, skits and the obligatory 20 minutes slide show. The event always ended in tears and people getting all mushy at the thought of leaving their high school friends behind but it was kinda cool to see pictures from back at the beginning of the school year, your forget all of those little details that at the time seemed major.

So as I sit here today, the final day of 2008, I look back at what was a year never to forget. It was full of many ups and down and life changing experiences and I think I grew more this year then ever.

Highlights:

-Organizing the Gala for Hope for the Jaycees
-Skiing three times with Scottie and finally overcoming my fear of the “blues”
-Donating 8 inches of hair to Beautiful Lengths
-Seeing the top of Mt. McKinley in Alaska
-Spending an unforgettable weekend in Vegas for my birthday
-Losing 15 pounds and running my first 10K
-Becoming a James again
-Mountain biking for the first time
-Trying new restaurants and developing my palate
-Finally taking a biscuit class
-Seeing PorkChop grow from a small pup to a handsome boy
-Buying the Rabbit
-Spending time with Scottie and encountering many life adventures together along the way

I am really looking forward to next year. With only 6 months left on my 101 list, I hope to knock off many things including running a half marathon, doing a triathlon, starting my own business, and going to Napa Valley in the spring. Who knows what the next year will hold!

I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

*Conquering the mountain

I survived 4 straight days of skiing mostly blue trails in Beaver Creek and Vail. This may not sound like a huge accomplishment but when we were here in February I think I cried down most of the blues and this time I actually went down a black diamond! My soreness is gone and now I am back on my health kick, convenient timing eh? Something about skiing 4-5 hours a day has put me back in athletic mode and with plans to run a half marathon in 3 months I better get a move on!

Vail was really fantastic, it snowed just about everyday, the last day on the mountain brought on -8 degree weather…yeah it was a tad cold but once Scottie and I got some toe warmers we were set. It was weird being away from my family but we had a nice chat on Christmas morning and I get to use some of my gift certificates when I go pick up Bella next weekend- I miss my baby!

This is also my last week at the tea shop, I will miss the extra money but I am looking forward to being able to relax after work or work out, as well as making dinner again…and of course spending more time with Scottie. Everything works out in the end.

Christmas is a mere days away and I will be spending the Holiday in Vail, CO with Scottie’s family but I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday!  I will be sure to have a holiday and skiing wrap up when I get back!

I decided to tackle making gnocchis because after ravioli, gnocchi was the natal progression right?  I had a butternut squash in my weekly Papa Spud’s delivery so I felt it was a perfect time to try it.  What I did not plan for was a hectic and long day at the tea shop which led to my lack of patience.  Luckily Scottie came to my rescue and saved me from throwing then entire thing in the trash and ordering pizza.

These are not terribly hard to make.  Scottie baked the squash and potatoes as they take about an hour or so to cook.  When I got off work I took the “meat” out and mixed with the the rest of the ingredients.  I was nervous about letting the squash and potato cool too much but I think it was way too hot because I used WAY more flour then the recipe, it just sucked it up.  The dumplings were still tender which surprised me because I was sure I would end up with wall paste.

This recipe also makes quite a large amount, we froze about half of it but could have done more as the half we boiled made 4 VERY generous servings.  So I will try these next time with a nice cream sauce (Scottie said he would prefer such sauce.)

Overall, a nice classy dinner that could easily be served at a restaurant, once again proving that with a little patience and a good recipe you can make a really fantastic meal for so much less!

Butternut Dumplings with Brown Butter and Sage

from Alton Brown

1 1/2 small butternut squash, halved and seeded
4 medium baking (russet) potatoes, pierced
1 egg
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 pinch nutmeg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional, for dusting
Oil
1 bunch sage, leaves chiffonade
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

On a sheet pan, place the squash flesh side down and roast until very tender (about 45 minutes). At the same time, bake potatoes directly on the rack of oven for 1 hour.

Split the potatoes and allow to cool slightly, or until you can handle them. Don’t let them cool completely. Scoop the flesh of the potatoes and the squash into a bowl and mash with a hand masher. Mix in the egg, salt and nutmeg. Then add the flour and mix until a soft dough forms. Do not do this in a mixer, it will overwork the dough. Add flour by the spoonful if it’s still too moist.

Turn out onto a floured board and divide into 8 portions. Roll out into ropes and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Line the pieces up on a floured sheet pan as you work. At this point you could freeze them on the pan until solid, then transfer to zip top bags and store in the freezer.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water gently drop in the dumplings. Don’t overcrowd. As they begin to float, remove them with a slotted spoon and toss them into an ice bath.

Drain off the water and toss in a little oil. Store loosely in containers until ready to use.

To reheat, in a saute pan over high heat add 1 tablespoon of soft butter. Cook until the butter begins to foam and turn brown. Add 2 teaspoons sage leaves and 1 cup of dumplings. Cook for an additional minute until the dumplings are heated through. Repeat until you have desired amount of servings. Plate and top with freshly grated Parmesan.

The aftermath via camera phone

The Holiday Christmas Office Building Party was today and I always try to bring a crowd pleaser.  One year was the pumpkin roll with caramel sauce, and I can’t even remember what I brought last year, probably a dessert.  This year I wanted to try something easy as I had to make it around 11pm last night as I had to work at the tea shop.  Luckily this was super easy and with my master chicken shredder Scottie, this was done in less then 30 minutes.

You can’t beat this combination of dressing, cream cheese and hot sauce…you could really cut the calories on this with low fat dressing and cream cheese and it would totally satisfy your wing craving.  At least it would for me, I just want the wing sauce and dipping sauce!

I nuked this in the microwave instead of baking it as this was for a potluck party but I will bake it in the future for that crispy topping the cheese creates.  This was SO GOOD!  It was the first dish cleaned out and it went FAST!  Lots of compliments and people said I should bottle and sell it…that’s not a bad idea.

This perfect for a quick potluck dish or even better Super Bowl!  This is football food at it’s best!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch or Bleu Cheese dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks® Red Hot®
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
chopped scallions

1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
tortilla chips

In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and dressing until smooth.  Add in pepper sauce and blend.  Fold in chicken and 1 cup of cheese.  Spread into an 8 inch glass dish and top with 1/2 shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until bubbly, garnish with scallions. Serve with celery and tortilla chips.

Scottie is always giving me a hard time about the fact that I never make waffles for him, so I made a point to add it to the Thanksgiving menu.  Unfortunately, it got pushed back in favor of a much easier cinnamon french toast but I did not back out on my promise, I made these last weekend and they are really good.  This recipe makes a TON of waffles, like 10 waffles or so, I would make them for a crowd or freeze some for a busy morning.  Scottie likes his waffles “soft” (as in not crispy) because that is the way he had them in boarding school, and these waffles were perfect for him.  If you want a crispy waffle, try separating the eggs adding the yolks to the wet mixture then whipping the egg whites and folding them in at the end, that should help.

Next time I will add some caramelized pecans and maple butter to the top but for a busy Saturday this did the trick!

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon(s) baking powder
2 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
1 teaspoon(s) ginger
1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 teaspoon(s) fresh-ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon(s) cloves
4 large eggs
2 cup(s) buttermilk (I used half whole milk and half skim milk with a touch of white vinegar)
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup(s) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup(s) (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract

Preheat a waffle iron. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl and set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin purée, sugar, butter, and vanilla in another large bowl until smooth. While whisking, add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.

Generously coat the waffle iron with vegetable oil and cook the batter in the waffle iron as recommended in the manufacturer’s instructions. Repeat with remaining batter.

Ugh a week late I know but I wanted to share this picture of the Thanksgiving good.  Notice the wine bottles scattered throughout the picture as well as the bottle of Jim Beam in the right corner…funny.  The dinner was fantastic, the food was only 30 minutes late…pretty good for me:)

Stephie was sick though which was a bummer and I am now getting over whatever crude she gave me.  So this week was pretty much overshadowed with the fact that I was sick and tired but I took off some time from both jobs and caught up on my sleep which helped a lot.  I am jealous that Scottie has some kind of bulletproof immune system and has not gotten sick!  So time for me to take more vitamins and drink more green tea….I think I may know where I can get some.